Idea: Tax imports, encourage American production for a change.

(vanity) | 2/18/13 | (vanity)

[Cringing Negativism Network]

OK let me offer an idea, contrary to what seems now to be the thought of everyone in both parties.

Americans need to make things.

[SkyDancer]

PS: Smoot was a Republican from Utah and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Willis C. Hawley, a Republican from Oregon, was chairman of the House ...

[staytrue]

China makes low value goods like toys, shoes, clothes.

Bringing those jobs back would not add a lot to the USA.

Any gains in employment would be offset by higher costs, inflation, higher interest rates and damage to our high value manufacturing like cars and airplanes.

That is the economic side and there is zero case for tariffs.

The only argument for tariffs may be on the values/character/morals side.

The low value manufacturing may be a stepping stone for lots of “low value” employees to get a job, improve their value system and become better citizens instead of learning how to be on the govt. dole.

[Perdogg]

Yes and Amity Shlaes discusses this in her book “The Forgotten Man”.

[coloradan]

If you are not a statist as you claim, then why do you want to give the government additional power to coercively interfere with markets? It would appear that you seek to engage in behavior micromanagement (specifically, business micromanagement) through coercive incentives. Although this sort of thing has a lot of precedent, it is the precedent of statists and authoritarians “who know best” but not of limited-government, liberty-minded individuals or platforms.

[staytrue]

The only reason to bring back these low value jobs is the same for hiring a teen.

Teen workers usually cause more damage than they produce but the everyone needs to start somewhere.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

This seems to be a common perception here, that a “trade war” would erupt which would somehow hurt America because our trade balance would be impacted.

Smoot-Hawley was when American built things for the entire globe.

Now the situation is reversed. The only thing which would happen today, is we would need to rebuild American industry.

Which we should be doing. Now IMO.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Statist not. Whatever criticism you have, a Statist I most certainly am not.

You want to solve perceived problems with a tax levied by the state, but you're not a statist, no sir.

[Cyclone59]

Jeeps now being made in China
GM is expanding prodution and investment in China
Lots of “American” cars being built somewhere other than America. More “Import” cars being built here.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Manufacturing In The US Is Making A Historic Comeback

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Another question.

A very good one, which we should consider very carefully before embarking on any such plan.

All I am saying is we are spending ourselves to import bankruptcy.

Once our money and our production is gone, America is through.

[1rudeboy]

Little known fact about trade cases: say you are an unscrupulous manufacturer seeking to pad your profit margin on the backs of U.S. citizens. So you bring your case before the ITC, which, if it decides to do so sends its lawyers to argue on your behalf in front of our government (if unilateral action is desired), or the WTO (if you decide to go the international route).

Here's the deal: if you win, you just had U.S. taxpayers pay for lawyers to raise taxes on themselves to your own profit. If you lose, you just had U.S. taxpayers pay for lawyers, and you lose nothing.

[central_va]

The effects of Smoot Hawley were trivial:

U.S. imports decreased 66% from US$4.4 billion (1929) to US$1.5 billion (1933), and exports decreased 61% from US$5.4 billion to US$2.1 billion, both decreases much more than the 50% decrease of the GDP. Thus, exports minus imports—which is the GDP formula—declined from 1 billion to 600 million, while GDP was $58.9 billion, resulting in a trivial effect on GDP of about two-thirds of one percent.

[1rudeboy]

Did You Know...

• The United States is the world's largest manufacturing economy, producing 18.2 percent of global manufactured products, according to the World Bank. China is second with 17.6 percent.¹

• U.S. manufacturing produces $1.8 trillion of value each year, or 12.2 percent of U.S. GDP. For every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.48 is added to the economy.²

• Manufacturing supports an estimated 17.2 million jobs in the U.S.—about one in six private sector jobs. Nearly 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.³

• In 2011, the average U.S. manufacturing worker earned $77,060 annually, including pay and benefits. The average worker in all industries earned $60,168.⁴

• U.S. manufacturers are the most productive workers in the world, far surpassing the worker productivity of any other major manufacturing economy, leading to higher wages and living standards.⁵

• Two-thirds of manufacturers pay income taxes at individual rates. Therefore, any tax increase on individuals is a tax increase on manufacturers.⁶

• U.S. manufacturers perform two-thirds of all private sector R&D in the nation, driving more innovation than any other sector.⁷

• Taken alone, U.S. manufacturing would be the tenth largest economy in the world.⁸

For more details, read the full report Facts About Manufacturing.

[central_va]

The 1st United States Congress, wanting a straightforward tax that was not too onerous and easy to collect, passed the Tariff of 1790. Like all subsequent tariffs it taxed imported goods at their Ports of entry to raise revenue for the federal government. Treasury agents collected the tariff before goods could be landed, and what became the Coast Guard prevented smuggling. Tariffs were the largest (approaching 95% at times) source of federal revenue until the Federal income tax began after 1913. For well over a century the federal government was largely financed by tariffs averaging about 20% on foreign imports. There are no tariffs for imports or shipments from other states.

I have more respect for the 1st US Congress than for a bunch of Benedict Arnold Free Traitors....

[Teacher317]

You HAVE to be a spam-bot. No human could post the same single message so many times over such a long period of time.

(And by the way, you're wrong about its effect on the economy. But you know that already.)

[cripplecreek]

Its like trying to beat obedience into a dog. You might get some obedience out of fear but you’ll never get the loyalty and the true obedience that comes with it. More often than not, the dog will flee.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Old numbers dude.

China is now the export leader.

The momentum is all negative as well. China is growing, America is shrinking.

[central_va]

Did you know you were a communist butt kisser?

[Mad Dawgg]

"Attempting to social engineer in any way from the top, like this, usually ends up with the opposite result people expect."

No, but see if we want to fix a problem that was created by Government intrusion into the free market (Taxes, Regulations, Fines, Union B.S., Mandatory Healthcare, etc.) then we must have more Government intrusion into the free market by instituting even more Taxes, Regulations, Fines, Union B.S., Mandatory Healthcare, etc.

Don't you see it now?

[1rudeboy]

October 2012 is old?